RAW-NDS nexus working against Pakistan: Ehsanullah Ehsan

In an exclusive interview to geo.tv, the former face of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) Ehsanullah Ehsan has claimed that Indian spy agency RAW’s main aim is to stoke communal tension in Pakistan.

Speaking to journalist Saleem Safi in his news show Jirga, Ehsan — who recently surrendered to the Pakistan Army — said RAW coordinated with the anti-Pakistan terrorist outfits based in Afghanistan through the NDS, the premier Afghan intelligence agency.

“One of their main agendas is to create a rift between Punjabis and Pashtuns [in Pakistan],” said Ehsan on RAW’s intentions.  

When asked to comment on how anti-Pakistan terrorists are able to move freely inside Afghanistan, Ehsan said the Afghan government is fully aware of their movements. “We used to inform them beforehand that we would be passing by a certain area and should not face any difficulty. There was a proper system to it,” he explained.

They [Afghans] also used to make us aware of the potential hindrances on the way, where they had no control in the presence of NATO or American forces, he stated further.  

JuA chief treated in India

When asked to comment on [JuA chief] Omar Khorasani’s whereabouts, Ehsan said Khorasani has two to four houses in Afghanistan and three wives. “Therefore, he shuttles among Jalalabad, Khost and Kabul,” he said, adding that “the last time I met him was five to six months ago when he came to Khost to meet me.”

Commenting on news of Khorasani being injured, Ehsan said that six months after the formation of JuA in 2015, Khorasani was injured in the area of Lalpura. “He went to India to get treatment where he was completely cured. He travelled on an Afghan passport.”

On a question on the whereabouts of [TTP chief] Maulana Fazlullah, Ehsan said he is living in Kunar.

Answering a question about the relations between TTP and JuA, Ehsan said each head was looking to take on total power.

Regarding the potential merger of JuA and Daesh, Ehsan said Khorasani had demanded Daesh to make him their chief representative of the region but this was not accepted.

Replying to a question, Ehsan informed that cross-border shelling on JuA camps by the Pakistan Army had resulted in the killing of several commanders and relocation of foot soldiers.

TTP not an organised movement

Ehsan said that when the TTP was formed in early 2008, the idea was to take part in Jihad against the allied powers in Afghanistan. He informed that their training base was in Mohmand Agency while the instructors there belonged to Afghanistan. When there was a military operation in Mohmand Agency in 2011, they moved to Kunar in Afghanistan, he added.

Ehsan said that later he was called to Waziristan where he was appointed as the official spokesperson of TTP.

Talking about the organisational structure of the TTP, Ehsan said as far as he was aware, TTP was not an organised movement. “It was like an umbrella. Baitullah Mehsud had gathered people (groups) from rural and urban areas to make the TTP. At that time, each area had its own chief. After Baitullah, Hakimullah Mehsud took over the leadership. After Hakeemullah’s death, the local chiefs all wanted to be the leader so Fazlullah was elected as the chief of the organisation after a lucky draw and Khalid Haqqani was appointed his deputy.”

Ehsan said that when he had a dispute with the new Shura (council), he went to Nangarhar, Afghanistan. He added that after JuA’s formation, he moved around in Afghanistan.